They have dug a 360-foot tunnel, beginning in a Quonset hut in Canada and ending in the living room of a home in Lynden, Washington.

They drag their stashes underwater, behind fishing boats, so the line can be cut if an agent approaches; buoys, attached to the loads with dissolvable strips of zinc, rise to the surface the following day.

They float hollowed-out logs, outfitted with GPS tracking systems, down the Kettle River.

And some – "the bravest," says Skogstad, "but not necessarily the brightest" – hike the seven-mile border crossing, through the forest, on foot.

Topher and his men would spend the rest of the night in the woods and be picked up around sunrise.

Aside from the obvious demands of hiking for miles with heavy loads, they had some close calls.

But he had heard about how easy it was to cross the Canadian border – only an hour north of Coeur D' Alene – and bring back the popular, extremely potent marijuana growing in abundance in British Columbia and known, generically, as "B. Bud." Rumor had it that the town of Nelson had become a sort of hippie Shangri-La, a place where if it took you more than ten minutes to find someone to sell you a dime bag, there was a good chance you were already high. And then, just as quickly, they began to lose control. Outside, there are palm trees in the parking lot and a decent view of the harbor. Though marijuana remains illegal in Canada, the stance of the government regarding pot is far less hysterical than in the United States, with laws enforced sporadically and penalties never especially stringent.

To kick-start their enterprise, he dragged it to the side of the highway and sold it within minutes for

But he had heard about how easy it was to cross the Canadian border – only an hour north of Coeur D' Alene – and bring back the popular, extremely potent marijuana growing in abundance in British Columbia and known, generically, as "B. Bud." Rumor had it that the town of Nelson had become a sort of hippie Shangri-La, a place where if it took you more than ten minutes to find someone to sell you a dime bag, there was a good chance you were already high. And then, just as quickly, they began to lose control. Outside, there are palm trees in the parking lot and a decent view of the harbor. Though marijuana remains illegal in Canada, the stance of the government regarding pot is far less hysterical than in the United States, with laws enforced sporadically and penalties never especially stringent.

To kick-start their enterprise, he dragged it to the side of the highway and sold it within minutes for $1,500. Raised a Buddhist, Topher had essentially grown up on a boat, sailing the world with his free-spirit parents before they settled in Coeur D' Alene when he was fourteen.

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But he had heard about how easy it was to cross the Canadian border – only an hour north of Coeur D' Alene – and bring back the popular, extremely potent marijuana growing in abundance in British Columbia and known, generically, as "B. Bud." Rumor had it that the town of Nelson had become a sort of hippie Shangri-La, a place where if it took you more than ten minutes to find someone to sell you a dime bag, there was a good chance you were already high. And then, just as quickly, they began to lose control. Outside, there are palm trees in the parking lot and a decent view of the harbor. Though marijuana remains illegal in Canada, the stance of the government regarding pot is far less hysterical than in the United States, with laws enforced sporadically and penalties never especially stringent.To kick-start their enterprise, he dragged it to the side of the highway and sold it within minutes for $1,500. Raised a Buddhist, Topher had essentially grown up on a boat, sailing the world with his free-spirit parents before they settled in Coeur D' Alene when he was fourteen.

,500. Raised a Buddhist, Topher had essentially grown up on a boat, sailing the world with his free-spirit parents before they settled in Coeur D' Alene when he was fourteen.